


A rose by any other name would smell as sweet...

by thrillingsentience



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Human AU, Is this modern?, No determined time-zone, Old ages? who knows, There's a fancy mansion, and bad influences, this was based off a dream
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2020-01-23 03:12:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18541120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thrillingsentience/pseuds/thrillingsentience
Summary: Priscilla Diamond is the sheltered heir to the Diamond nobility, and after spending most of her life stuck within her manor, she wants to go out and see the world. Donning the pseudonym ‘Rose’ she sneaks out to the city and meets three women who would soon become her closest friends - one of which may become even closer. That is, until a certain musician comes into town and sweeps her off her feet.Battling between her regal life and her city life—and with a baby on the way—Priscilla has to make a hard decision: does she choose the life she’s always had, or take the leap of faith and run away as far as she can?(HUMAN AU)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Heya! This is my first Steven Universe fanfic, and my first ever fanfic published! I'm sorry if any of the characters seen OOC at first - but I hope you enjoy! And I'd love feedback, so feel free to comment! This story came to me in a dream, and I was so invested in it I just had to write it down!
> 
> Priscilla = Pink   
> Bethany = Blue

The sun was just beginning to set over the lush country land. The dying light bathed the trimmed expanse of field and a grandiose manor in rich orange light. Along the edges of the horizon it looked like the sky was on fire that gave away to the soft purples and blues of the early night sky. A cluster of roses swayed gently in the evening, September breeze, and were further disturbed by a stray hand brushing ever so delicately along their deep pink petals. A quiet humming tune wafted through the chilly air that danced along the rustling leaves of manicured trees that outlined the rather remarkable garden.

Priscilla Diamond—the upcoming heir to the Diamond nobility— traipsed leisurely around her beloved garden with a soft smile that played on her lips. The tune she was humming, which belonged to no known song, escaped her throat again as she passed by another batch of roses—this time a pale yellow in contrast to the vibrant pink ones before. It was times like these—a relaxing walk around the botanical garden that surrounded the manor—that Priscilla enjoyed the most during the autumn season, or really, _any_ season at all. It gave her time to think and reflect about her life, and it gave her time to forget everything that ails her—at least until she was called back inside. 

Once her mind wandered to the inevitable closure to her walk, it seemed as though the world was betting against her. 

“Priscilla! Priscilla are you out here?” a dainty voice called out. 

A slim, tall woman with dark black hair cut into a short bob leaned out from the back door leading into the yard. She clutched onto the french glass door and peered through the garden from her stationary spot halfway on the porch.

“Please don’t make me have to find you, Priscilla! Lady Bethany wouldn’t be happy… again!”

With a sigh, and her humming cut short, Priscilla poked her head up from behind a row of hedges and briefly made eye contact with Paula, the head housekeeper of the manor. Paula spotted her, and Priscilla always wondered how the woman could walk around with bangs that just barely covered her eyes—it was a true mystery. She called out again, this time her voice was edging on desperation and mild agitation. 

Knowing her time alone was sadly over, Priscilla made her way over to Paula. 

“Oh, look at you,” the housekeeper tutted, “you’re all muddy.”

Priscilla looked down at herself with a curious glance. She didn’t _think_ she got that dirty, and she made sure to jump over all the puddles from the previous afternoon rain shower. The hem of her gown was riddled with spots of mud and her once black boots were painted a rusty brown with caked on mud and dirt.

“Uh… whoops?” Priscilla sheepishly smiled and shrugged, which only caused a harsh sigh from Paula. 

“I’ll get someone to draw you a bath, and then get washed up—hey!” Paula shouted and grabbed hold of Priscilla before she could enter the house. She pointed down at the heir’s shoes and crossed her arms. “Do _not_ drag mud into the house.”

Priscilla squatted onto the floor and began to untie the muddy laces, and then kicked off her boots. Paula gave her a satisfied look as Priscilla walked passed her into the house. 

The french doors opened up to a large, polished wood living space. An L-shaped couch sat in the middle of the room, and under it was a white fur rug. A fireplace sat adjacent to the couch, and above everything hanging from the ceiling was a cascading diamond chandelier. Railing to a loft ran along the top edges of the room, starting just where the glistening light fixture stopped. The living room was a sight that would make anyone stop and admire the handiwork that went into making every intricate detail - but to Priscilla, she just walked passed it after having witnessed the dusty room her entire life. 

She stepped into a foyer that had two grand staircases that curved towards each other on either side of the room. In the middle of the two staircases was a running fountain of two people twirling in an eternal dance. Priscilla quirked her eyebrow at the fountain—it was never turned on, usually it was dry and used as an odd-looking statue—Lady Bethany must be in a good mood, or a new housekeeper accidentally turned it on. Priscilla hoped it was the former, just for the latter’s sake. As she made her way up the staircase, Priscilla lifted up the hem of her skirt so the mud-laced fabric wouldn’t drag against the marble steps. Her own personalized bathroom was upstairs, and since Paula was always punctual with her work, Priscilla knew that a bath was already waiting for her. She had to remind herself to ask Paula who made it, so she could thank them. 

Waiting for her in her room was a soft pink evening gown spread out on her four-poster bed. Priscilla wrinkled her nose a little bit at the dress, knowing Lady Bethany had more than likely hand picked it out for her. It was a beautiful dress, but that lingering knowledge just left a sour taste in Priscilla’s mouth. The sweet smell of roses wafted to Priscilla’s nose and she followed the scent towards the bathroom. The door was left ajar, and it didn’t squeak but once when Priscilla fully pushed it open. 

The bath was bubbly and the scent of roses was stronger now whilst inside the bathroom. Through the thick layer of bubbles, the bath water was a pale pink. Priscilla stripped out of her tattered dress and slowly dipped a toe into the perfectly warm water. A sigh escaped her lips as she submerged herself deeper into the sudsy bath.She _really_ had to thank whoever made this bath for her. 

After the relaxing bath, Priscilla stepped back into her room and tiptoed over to the gown that rested on the bed. There was a note tent-folded on top of the breast of the gown, and Priscilla didn’t know how she had missed it first glance. She plucked the note from where it stand and quirked a curious brow at it. On the front, in swirled, loopy letters was her name, and with her thumb she flipped the paper up and read what was written inside with the same elegant handwriting.

_Put this on and meet me in the sitting room. - Bethany_

Priscilla tossed the letter behind her back with a flick of her wrist and scooped up the dress in her arms. It was a beautiful dusty pink with lattice work around the breast and arms. The skirt was paneled, and the hem was lined with the same lace at the top. A zipper that was always hard to reach was sewn into the back of the dress, and of course Priscilla strained and stretched to grasp onto the small thing. When she reached so far and thought that the dress would rip—or her arm would dislocated—did she finally grab hold of the zipper and pull upward. With a satisfying _zip_ the dress was finally fit.

Priscilla twirled this way and that in her tri-fold full body mirror, admiring how the panels of the skirt fanned out from her waist and caught the air. A giggle escaped her lips as she kept twirling, until a small cough from the doorway broke Priscilla from her giddiness. 

“Priscilla, if you’re ready,” Paula said once the heir turned around to face her.

“Oh, right,” Priscilla smiled, and Paula nodded. 

The head housekeeper lead the heir down the hallways, which were lined with polish paneled wood that stopped midway up the wall. The top half of the walls were smooth and painted a powder blue, and a few painted pictures of landscapes and skies adorned the walls inside intricate golden frames. 

Paula stopped in front of an archway door, and gestured for Priscilla to walk into the room. “Lady Bethany is waiting for you.”

Priscilla nodded, thanked Paula, and then walked inside the sitting room. 

Lady Bethany was relaxing on a plush blue sofa when Priscilla walked in. The lady was wearing an elegant blue gown that cascaded down her legs and onto the couch like a gentle waterfall. She smiled when she noticed Priscilla and gestured the young girl to take a seat onto an upholstered chair across from where she sat.

“Priscilla,” Lady Bethany said, a happy tone in her voice. “Your eighteenth birthday is coming up soon.”

“It is,” Priscilla agreed, not really sure where this conversation was going. 

“How you’ve become such a beautiful young woman,” Lady Bethany clasped her hands in front of her mouth, subtly concealing the smile that was forming on her face. 

“Thank you,” Priscilla smiled, genuinely grateful of the compliment. “Does that mean I can leave the house every once in a while?”

Lady Bethany’s face dropped a little at the request, and she shook her head slightly, her long dark hair bobbed slowly from the motion. “No, no…” at the sight of Priscilla’s expression deflating, Lady Bethany quickly added, “But there is a military gala tomorrow night, in the downstairs ballroom… I’d love for you to attend.”

Priscilla nodded, her smile slightly coming back, but not as full as it had been. “Alright, yeah—that sounds great.”

“Great!” Lady Bethany mirror Priscilla’s glee and clapped her hands together.

 _Great._ Priscilla smiled, slightly more excited for the next day.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I wanna say thanks for all the kudos! It means a lot <3 I hope you enjoy this next part! Thanks :D
> 
> Sienna = Yellow Diamond

Early morning light poured in through the window and onto Priscilla, rousing the heir from her slumber. She blinked away the last remaining bits of a dream from her eyelids and tore away the blankets off of herself and sat upright in the now messy bed. 

  


Tonight was the night of the military gala. 

  


Even the thought of it sent excitement throughout Priscilla’s body. She could feel her fingertips tingle with the growing energy. A bubbly laugh erupted from her mouth as she quickly climbed out of bed and slip on a day gown. Lady Bethany would be in the downstairs dining room, and breakfast was probably already made and waiting for her out on the rich mahogany table top. 

  


Her assumptions were correct, and the moment she walked through the doorway the smell of freshly cooked breakfast hit her nostrils. Lady Bethany was seated at one of the chairs, and Priscilla sat across from her. 

  


“Are you excited about the gala tonight?” Lady Bethany said between bites. 

  


“Yeah! I can't wait!” Priscilla practically beamed at the older woman.

  


“Maybe you could help Paula with the decor?” 

  


“Really?” Priscilla was surprised that Lady Bethany made that suggestion - ever since the  _ last time _ Priscilla tried to help out with a ball. They had to postpone it for an hour to clean up all the food on the floor after the heiress wanted to show everyone a ‘cool trick she can do with a tablecloth’. 

Lady Bethany nodded, albeit a little reluctantly - her mind probably travelling to that specific event as well. “Paula would appreciate the help, and don't get into any trouble this time, Priscilla.”

  


“Alright, I won't.”

  


After breakfast, Priscilla was told to go down to the main ballroom to meet up with Paula. The head housekeeper was standing near a few other workers who were hanging up string lights along one of the back walls. She had a clipboard tucked between her elbow and her hip, and her eyes frequently scanned the papers that were clipped. 

  


“Paula!” Priscilla waved to the woman as she bounded over to her. “Need any help?” 

  


The lithe woman jumped slightly at Priscilla's outburst, but then took a breath and flipped through the papers on her clipboard. She clicked her pen and began to scribble a few things down, and then turned back to Priscilla.

  


“Over there are table toppers,” Paula pointed over to the far side of the ballroom were a trestle table sat covered in varying party supplies. “Could you make sure each table has a candle and a flower vase?”

  


Priscilla nodded, determination set in her eyes, and she padded over to the supply table. The ballroom was filled with four-seater round tables that were covered in elegant white tablecloths. A few tables already had a candle or a vase already, but a lot of them were empty gand ready for Priscilla's help. 

  


With an armful of candles and flower vases, Priscilla waddled her way towards an empty table and began to make her rounds of depositing the decorations on each table. 

  


She only dropped one vase, but Paula didn't make a fuss over it, and promised not to tell Lady Bethany when Priscilla started to get worried. Soon enough, with Priscilla's help along with the party workers, the ballroom was beginning to look more and more like a  _ real _ ballroom. The decorations were elegant and light, and as the sun began to set, a few workers went around to light each candle.

  


“Nice job,” Paula complimented Priscilla, who was admiring the view of the ballroom.

  


She was taken off guard and glanced at Paula with an incredulous look, “Whaaaat? All I did was set the tables, you did the  _ real _ work.” 

  


Paula, as humble as ever, just shrugged. “I just like to draw out the party plans. I'm glad Lady Bethany lets me.”

  


“I wouldn't choose anyone else,” Lady Bethany, who had entered the ballroom mid conversation, said. “It looks great.”

  


“Thank you, my Lady,” Paula did a polite bow in respect when she noticed Lady Bethany—and Priscilla copied the woman, which made Lady Bethany quirk an eyebrow in amusement.   
  


“The ball will start shortly,” Lady Bethany spoke up, “Priscilla, go get changed. There should be another dress waiting for you in your room.”

  


“Okay,” Priscilla departed from the two women and off towards her bedroom. She could hear a hushed conversation between the two, but she couldn’t quite make out the words as she got further and further away.

  


The dress that was laying on the bed was the same dusty pink as the evening gown from yesterday, but instead of a long, paneled skirt—this time it was knee-length and had a puffy petticoat to make the skirt look fuller than it actually is. It was strapless, but easier to put on than the last dress, and after an easy zipper that was on the side instead of the back, Priscilla checked over herself one more time in the mirror before leaving her room. As she walked down the hallways—her heels clicking on the hardwood floor—she could hear soft music and the distant sound of chatter leaking through the walls. She quickened her pace, for the gala must have already started.

  


The ballroom looked even prettier when all the decorations were on and people actually occupied the tables and spaces in between. The room was bathed in warm oranges from the candlelight and the incandescent string lights that covered the roof in parallel lines made the ceiling look like a sky full of stars. Priscilla was taken in with amazement as she took in all of the hard work of the housekeepers that made all this happen. 

  


As her eyes scanned the crowd, she realized that there weren’t as many familiar faces as she thought there would be. She saw Paula and a few other housekeepers walking around with trays of food or drinks, and Lady Bethany stood with a group of important looking people, all of them chatting away about something Priscilla couldn’t quite make out—or care about.

  


This was her first gala to attend—the other few times she had been restricted to her bedroom due to the many mishaps she may or may not have caused in the past. She expected more dancing, or maybe something more  _ upbeat _ , but all she got was fancy and important looking people meandering around with champagne glasses and a glazed look in their eyes. She wanted to go over to Lady Bethany, maybe say hi and introduce herself to the women that surrounded her, but she found herself walking towards a nearby empty table and sitting down instead.

  


Her foot subconsciously tapped along to the soft song that was being played by a pianist towards the back of the ballroom. Her fingers accompanied her foot tapping on the top of the table, and she just sat with a mild song in her head as she scanned the gala around her for anything interesting to do that  _ wouldn’t _ get her in trouble.

  


“Hey,” a gruff voice said behind her, which broke Priscilla out of her reverie. She turned around to face a tall, strong built woman in a nice-fitting suit. The woman was dark skinned, but she had patches of lighter shade skin along her face. Priscilla was slightly taken aback by the woman’s  _ intensity _ , but she was pretty and a conversation waiting to happen, so Priscilla took a bite and gave her a reply.

  


“Hello, I’m Priscilla.”

  


“Jasper,” the woman said, her mouth upturned in a sharp-tooth smile as the introduction and she grabbed Priscilla’s hands into one of her larger ones. Even though she had the look of a hardened, strong soldier, her grip was delicate as she greeted Priscilla—and the heir thought she could see Jasper debating whether or not to kiss her hand, before she ultimately released the handshake all together.

  


“It’s a lovely gala,” Priscilla said after a while, in at attempt to make conversation.

  


Jasper just let out a small huff and a shrug. “S’not really my thing. I just get forced to come here.”

  


Priscilla was slightly confused at the reply, until she noticed the military badges at adorned the lapel of Jasper’s suit jacket. “You’re a colonel.”

  


“Yup,” Jasper stood up a bit straighter at the mention, as if she were proud of the title and wanted to flaunt it off in front of the heir. “It’s sorta mandatory to come to these things—especially if Lady Bethany invites you… I work for her sister, Lady Sienna.”

  


“Oh?” Priscilla perked up at the mentioning of Lady Sienna—she had only met her once, and that one time she  _ did _ Priscilla could remember how  _ serious _ and  _ intense _ Lady Sienna was. She was the epitome of a military commander, from the way she held herself to the way she spoke—everything about her screamed ‘army’. “I don’t get to see her that often.”

  


“You’re somewhat of a mystery outside of here, Priscilla,” Jasper said, she had now pulled up a chair to sit across from Priscilla. “I wouldn’t have believed you were real if I hadn’t seen ya tonight.”

  


Priscilla grimaced, and then sucked down her feeling towards the matter and nodded. “Yeah, I’m to stay within the manor… but it’s sooo  _ boring.” _

  


Jasper actually  _ snickered _ at Priscilla’s attempt at a joking tone, which caused Priscilla to beam up at the other woman.

  


Priscilla and Jasper chatted and talk most of the gala, they barely moved from their spot except to occasionally get food or drinks. Champagne wasn’t as good at Priscilla thought it would be, since Lady Bethany never let her drink all that often. It was understandable, since the heir wasn’t of age yet—and the older woman saw it as ‘uncouth’ for someone underage to engage in that sort of activity. But what she didn’t know wouldn’t hurt her, Priscilla thought as she sipped her third glass of champagne—thought she was unaware that Lady Bethany had her sights on the heir all evening, and was fuming by the end of the night.

  


Jasper wished farewell to Priscilla once the gala began to wind down to a gradual ending. The heir was slightly disappointed, and slightly relieved, to be out of the colonel’s presence. Her face felt flushed, but it was more than likely from the effects of alcohol on her body than anything Jasper had said. 

  


“Priscilla,” a more-than-disappointed voice cut through her thoughts, and she looked up to face Lady Bethany who was fuming. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  


Priscilla’s mind had to catch up to her body, and she quickly set the half-empty champagne glass onto a nearby table and tucked her arms behind her back. “No-nothing!”

  


Lady Bethany brought a hand up to her hand and pinched the bridge of her nose, “What am I going to do with you?”

  


“Please, Lady Bethany I didn’t mean to…” Priscilla felt  _ horrible _ , and she knew that some sort of punishment was about to ensue. She shouldn’t have had those few drinks, but she didn’t see the harm it in—everyone else was drinking!

  


“Just go to your room…” Lady Bethany’s voice was soft. “I’ll make sure some water gets sent up to you—but I don’t want to see or hear you until morning. I’ll figure out something then.”

  


Priscilla let out a sigh and dipped her head. This wasn’t one of the worse reasons why she had been sent to her room—those past experiences involved more yelling and subdued crying—but a punishment was a punishment and it still felt horrible. It felt as though the reality of the situation sobered Priscilla up, and with balled fists she marched towards her room.

  


She just wanted to have fun—she  _ never _ got to do  _ anything _ ! It was always  _ no no no _ when it came to Priscilla—she wasn’t allowed her own  _ freedom _ , and it drove her crazy.

  


Once she got up to her room and shut the door behind her, she paced around the carpeted floor with an impulsive idea burning into her mind. She was tired of being told what to do, and being sent to her room over the most minute things—she wanted a way out. And as her mind derailed from topic to topic, idea to idea, her eyes landed onto the locked window near her bed and a final idea quickly formed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so that's that! Lol. we're finally getting to the meat of the story! I don't really have an update schedule yet, I'm just posting after I finish writing a chapter (which is probably a terrible way to do it honestly but whatever). I also don't have a beta reader, so pardon any errors, sorry! Stay tuned for the next chapter, it should hopefully be soon, I'm about to have _a lot_ of free time.


	3. Chapter 3

Freedom was a relative term—nothing was ever truly  _ free _ . People were still bound by laws and regulations, and Priscilla was still bound by the ingraining Lady Bethany had forced into her since day one. She weighed her options: on one hand, her relative freedom was a glass pane away, but the heaviness of consequences weighed down on her other hand like a presumable ball-and-chain. The pros didn’t outweigh the cons, matter of fact, the cons smothered the pros like sinking sand—but Priscilla pushed her conscience away and made for the window.

 

She was tired of everything, she wanted a way out—but she promised to return. It was just a short night expedition, she told herself she would return by morning before anyone knew she had even snuck out. The window was locked, but it didn’t take that much effort to find the key that was stashed away in a vanity drawer. Still donned in her evening attire, Priscilla stepped over the window sill and adjusted her footing onto a wooden lattice that trailed along the side of the brick wall. Her heels had been discarded on her bedroom floor, and she didn’t even  _ want _ to imaging trying to climb down the wall in pumps. 

 

The wooden lattice was adorned with multiple rose bushes, which made climbing down even harder, for the thorns would get caught on her tulle petticoat and the fabric of her dress, or scrape up her feet and legs. Her fingers were bleeding by the time she reached the floor, but as she stared up at her bedroom window Priscilla knew that all the pain was worth it. 

 

She didn’t know where to go from there. It was early night—the sun must have set only a few hours ago—so she would have to be careful where to walk without any sort of light to help her. She cursed at her impulsiveness, for she should have thought to grab a flashlight, but then realized a bright light would instantly give her away when trying to sneak out of the manor grounds.

 

Priscilla knew there was a city a few miles down the road from the manor—she had picked up a general sense of direction from eavesdropping on housekeeper conversations—so she aimed herself in what she assumed was the direction of the town and began her trek. The night air smelled fresh, fresher than when Priscilla would march around her beloved rose garden—it smelled  _ real _ , lived in. The aroma of mud gave away to the gritty scent of asphalt as the dirt road gave away to a smooth, paved one.

 

Walking on the asphalt was a lot easier than the bumpy terrain, and it allowed Priscilla to stare out at the world around her rather than keeping a watchful eye on her feet so she wouldn’t trip on any stray branches or rocks. Her walk seemed to move faster once she began to pass the time by counting the stars, or trying to name the animals that cried out in the woods surrounding the road. The world away from the manor was a lot bigger than Priscilla had once imagined—and it was a lot more  _ wonderful _ than she imagined, as well. 

 

Her wonders skyrocketed once the city came into view. It was a small town, nothing too big—it was cozy, small, and everything Priscilla had dreamed of. Upon entering the town, a run-of-the-mill gas station was just off the side of the road, and across the street was a twenty-four-hour diner. The open sign of the diner was blinking in interchanging lights of red and blue. The flashes were the only other light on the empty road, besides a flickering street lamp further down the road that looked like a blinking dot. 

 

Priscilla, who was standing in the middle of the road, looked between the gas station and the diner. She turned towards the gas station, but stopped herself and spun on her heel to the diner. Something was drawing her towards it—and it looked a lot friendlier than the creepy gas station. 

 

The bell above the door signaled her entrance as she stepped inside the diner. A shot of warmth hit her the moment she walked in, a welcome change from the cold autumn night, and she rubbed at her arms to help her body retain the heat. Her eyes scanned around the homely interior of the diner—there were a few booths that lined the side wall, and a counter with bar stools adjacent to the booths. The only other people in the diner with her were a group of women in one of the booths—their conversation grew quiet once Priscilla had entered.

 

Paying the women no mind, Priscilla walked over to the counter and took a seat upon one of the stools, which swiveled slightly under her weight. The hushed conversation between the women started up again, and in Priscilla’s peripherals, she could see that they kept giving her sideways glances. The sound of shuffling and quiet complaining indicated that one of the women had gotten up from her seat at the booth—and the approaching footsteps let Priscilla know the woman was walking towards her.

 

Priscilla turned her head to face her—the woman was pale and lithe, she had strawberry blonde hair cut into a pixie that framed her face nicely. Her eyes were a soft blue, and a smattering of freckles adorned her cheeks. One of her hands was stuck out in front of her, rod-straight in a nervous offering of a handshake. Priscilla just smiled and accepted it, and the woman seemed to relax slightly at the contact.

 

“Hello, I’m Pearl,” she returned the smile.

 

“Pr—” the heir cut her introduction short—she didn’t know how these people would react to her being ‘Priscilla Diamond, heir to the throne’ and all that. She just wanted to be  _ normal _ for a night. “—Rose. I’m Rose!” The false name rolled off her tongue as easy as her real name would. It felt  _ right _ , it felt natural. She was just a normal person in a normal town for tonight—and she would make some friends, like anyone else would do. 

 

“You’re not from around here, are you?” Pearl asked, which brought Priscilla out of her thoughts.

 

“Uh…. Nope, just passing through?” The lie felt forced, but it stretched on an inkling of truth—even though she had lived not even a few miles away from this town her whole life, she  _ was _ new. 

 

Pearl quirked an eyebrow and was about to say something, before she was interrupted by one of the ladies at the table. She had tanned skin and messy dark brown hair that had the last fading traces of purple dye at the tips. Her eyebrows were knit together in mischievous playfulness and she cupped her hands over her mouth to shout louder, “Yo, P! Are you gonna introduce us to your new girlf—” a hand from the third and final women clamped over her mouth before she could finish her teasing sentence.

 

Pearl shot Priscilla an apologetic look, “Don’t mind Amethyst…” she let out a short chuckle. 

 

“I’d love to meet them,” Priscilla offered with a smile, which cause Pearl to blush slightly.

 

Pearl just nodded and gestured for Priscilla to follow, to which the heir hopped off her stool and walked behind the lithe woman like a stray puppy. She splayed out a hand towards the tanned woman, “That’s Amethyst,” she then gestured towards a taller, darker-skinned woman. She was wearing sunglasses indoors and  _ at night _ , and her hair was a puff of thick, dark curls. “And Garnet.”

 

Garnet gave Priscilla a nod, and Amethyst was just trying to hold back her laughter.

 

“I’m Rose,” Priscilla slipped the lie again—giddiness flooded throughout her as she played along with this false title she had given herself. “It’s nice to meet you all!” 

 

Pearl slid back into the empty side of the booth, and following suit Priscilla sat down next to her. Across from her was Amethyst, he kept giving her curious glances. 

 

“Did ya’ come out of the woods?” Amethyst bluntly asked and gestured towards Priscilla’s tattered clothes with a raised eyebrow. “Cause if so, that’s awesome.”

 

Priscilla grabbed at the ruined hem of her dress, and then let out a bubbly laugh, “Ohoh, no, no… Well, kinda, actually. I walked here.”

 

“What were you doing walking around at night? Especially alone?” Pearl sounded concerned, but a little curious as well.

 

“Exploring?” Priscilla couldn’t help but smile. “I’ve never been to a town like this before,”  _ or ever _ , she continued in silence. “I just wanted to check it out! I thought this diner would be nice—I am a little hungry.”

 

“Don’t get the potatoes,” Garnet spoke up after being silent the entire conversation. Priscilla was confused at first, until she noticed the women was tapping on the diner menu.

 

After looking over the menu for a bit, and waving down a waiter, Priscilla finally got some food in her. She didn’t order the potatoes, per Garnet’s request—but instead got a hearty meal of eggs and toast. Priscilla thought it was an amazingly odd thing that the diner sold breakfast any hour of the day—and after finding that out, she just  _ had _ to try it. Conversation with Pearl, Amethyst, and Garnet flowed easily with Priscilla, like she had known these women her entire life.

 

Amethyst would crack jokes with Priscilla—small sentences teasing fun, or they would both play off one another with sly remarks. Pearl was soft with her—she tried to make sure Priscilla was doing alright, or if she was having a good time. Priscilla appreciated Pearl’s worry, but she also tried to convince Pearl  _ not _ to worry so much. Garnet was the voice of reason—she could make order with a single word, or create chaos with a small gesture. She also liked to joke around, but her humor was dry and would go over one’s head if they weren’t paying enough attention—mostly Amethyst.

 

For Priscilla, this was paradise. And as the moon steadily rose higher in the sky, she knew that her time with these women was about to come to an end. They hadn’t strayed too far from the diner, thankfully—they were stationed in the parking lot, all of them side by side sitting on the curb. Amethyst was currently tossing rocks across the street to try and land them on top of the gas station pavilion—Garnet was critiquing her throws. 

 

Priscilla let out subdued laughs with every rock missed, and Amethyst would just let out a groan and scour the curbside for any more stones. 

 

“Rose?” Pearl’s voice cut through Priscilla’s distraction, and she slowly turned towards her, not entirely used to the new name yet.

 

“Yeah, Pearl?”

 

“I’m glad you’re here,” her face turned red once she realized what she had  _ just _ said. “I.. I mean—we  _ all  _ are glad we met you!”

 

Amethyst, who had stopped tossing rocks, began to laugh again. “Smooth.”

 

Pearl just shot her a glare, and then turned back to Priscilla. “What I’m trying to say is—”

 

“I know,” Priscilla smiled. “I’m glad I came here, too.” her eyes traveled between each of her new friends and a smile parted her lips.

  
She could feel that this was a new chapter in her life—that a sense of change was what was needed to keep her going. ‘Rose’ was a secret identity now, a lie that she had to keep for her own sake, and for everyone else’s. She wouldn’t want anything to happen to the three women she had grown so close to in a span of a few hours—for in that moment, Priscilla knew she had made three lifelong friends, and she promised that there would be  _ nothing _ to stand in her way from seeing them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, like I said I'm just uploading these as I finish them. Thanks again for the kudos - and feel free to comment! I'd love to hear feedback! I hope y'all enjoyed 
> 
> That's all for now, the new chapter should hopefully be soon! Thanks :D


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